Andros Trophy 2011: This is How France's Winter Version of NASCAR Looks Like

Four-time Formula 1 champion Alain Prost and his Dacia Duster took first place at the Andros Trophy season finale held in Paris on the Stade de France this past weekend. Although the competition did not count for the championship, it attracted more than 50,000 spectators at France's largest stadium that was transformed into an ice-covered oval track. What they witnessed was a superb ice-skating contest for cars and bikes. Follow the break for the videos.

The former F1 ace drove the race-spec Dacia Duster Ice to victory after eliminating all of his opponents, including Olivier Panis (Skoda Fabia) and Jean Philippe Dayraut (BMW 1-Series), the latter being none other than the Andros Trophy champion and the man who will drive the Duster hill climb car at Pikes Peak in June.

“I would like to dedicate my win to Dacia and to the public who gave me such a warm welcome," said Alain Prost. "We really wanted to perform well today, and we did," he added.

All cars that participate in the Andros Trophy must look like their production counterparts on the outside while complying with certain regulations including four-wheel drive system, four-wheel steering, a three-liter six-cylinder engine with 340HP, a six-speed gearbox and special studded ice tires.

By Dan Mihalascu

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VIDEO: Dacia Duster Commercial Redefines “Insulting” [NSFW]

This here commercial for Dacia's low-cost Duster SUV is the work of Dutch advertising company Artcore. We should warn you that the ad is a 1 minute and 46 second parade of almost continuous swearing. While we can appreciate some over-the-top creations, we just can’t see this ever airing, at least not during daytime hours. But even if the commercial somehow made it on your TV set, we doubt that this is what Dacia wants to promote.

The commercial has been labeled as “banned” by various internet sources, but it seems to have been produced to showcase a radical idea, rather than to be purpose driven advertisement. The foul-mouthed clip is available right after the break.

By Csaba Daradics

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Video: Dacia Logan with Volkswagen 2.8-liter VR6 Engine!

I don’t know if the word Dacia gives James May that fizzing sensation he often talks about, but the Top Gear host seems pretty fond of the Romanian brand. Same goes for low-budget European buyers who see the Renault-era Dacias as well priced models with affordable maintenance costs. One of the Romanian firm's latest cars, the Duster was even nominated for the 2011 COTY award.

However, the brand's models aren't exactly exciting, even more so when it comes to sheer performance with their mundane, small displacement petrol and diesel engines. But as always, for every problem there's a fix. This man's answer was to ditch the Logan sedan's four-cylinder and throw in a 2.8-liter VR6 Volkswagen engine.

Details surrounding the build are pretty scarce right now, as it’s an ongoing project. The owner says that the powerplant churns out 174 hp (most likely stock) and it’s coupled to a VW transmission. Other upgrades include the suspension and brake system.

By Csaba Daradics

Source: 4Tuning , Thanks for the tip Valentin M.!

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